The largest country in cobalt reserves will allow exports: so as not to make it cheaper

The Democratic Republic of the Congo will give the go-ahead for the resumption of cobalt exports, but will limit it to quotas. Earlier, the world's largest producer of strategic metall stopped exports due to falling prices.

"The export ban, first announced in February after falling prices, will end on October 15. After that, "the quota policy will be implemented" until further notice," Bloomberg reports with reference to Congo Office for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Markets (ARECOMS).

So, by the end of the year, companies will be allowed to ship a little more than 18 thousand tons and a maximum of 96.6 thousand tons in 2026 and 2027. Quotas will be calculated on the basis of historical exports and "will be communicated to each company," ARECOMS said.

The permitted exports will be significantly lower than the previous deliveries to the world market. According to Darton Commodities, in 2024, the Congo produced almost 220 thousand tons of cobalt. The country accounts for about three-quarters of the world's metal production, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles, as well as in the aerospace industry.

"The export ban was first announced on February 22, and then extended in June for another three months. The decision was made after the fall in cobalt prices, as the Chinese CMOC Group Ltd. increased production at two large mines in the Central African country," the agency writes.

Prices fell at the beginning of the year below $ 10 — to the lowest level in the last 21 years. But since then, cobalt has risen in price by more than 60%, while the price of cobalt hydroxide — the main product exported from Congo — has grown more than two and a half times.

"The situation no longer requires a complete suspension of exports, and the quota will make the final adjustments necessary in the coming months to balance the market for the coming years," ARECOMS president Patrick Luabea told Bloomberg.